History Creator / CBS

* ''MisterEd''

Nevertheless, the rural purge worked. CBS' replacements for its canceled rural-themed shows, such as ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'' and ''Series/AllInTheFamily'', got the ratings that they wanted and became classics in their own right. Even as Creator/{{ABC}} boomed in the '70s and took the top spot, CBS continued to do well, sitting comfortably in second place right into the early 1980s, with several classic TV shows such as ''Series/{{MASH}}'' and ''All in the Family'''s many {{spinoff}}s (''TheJeffersons'', ''Series/{{Maude}}'', and ''Series/GoodTimes'') carrying the load handily.

* ''Series/TheNanny''

* ''Series/MurderSheWrote''

* ''Series/WithoutATrace''

* ''TheJeffersons''

* ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow''
* ''Series/{{Maude}}''

* ''Series/{{Survivor}}''

In the TurnOfTheMillennium, CBS started turning itself around, debuting the megahits ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' and ''Series/{{CSI}}'' in 2000, and following them up over the next few years with a number of hit {{police procedural}}s (including ''CSI'''s [[CSINewYork two]] [[CSIMiami spinoffs]]) and [[{{Sitcom}} sitcoms]]. The network recovered from the abyss, running neck-and-neck with {{Fox}} for the number one spot in the ratings, and started becoming popular with younger audiences again... just as network television viewership overall started to decline with the rise of NewMedia. That said, CBS seems to be handling the new media shift far better than the new Viacom has; they've invested heavily in streaming, going as far as putting several classic Paramount/Desilu shows such as ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''MacGyver'' up for viewing, and also bought CNET Networks' family of websites in 2007, rebranding it as CBS Interactive (this subsidiary also includes GameFAQs, Last.fm, Metacritic and TV.com, in addition to the various CNET websites). Nevertheless, the old joke about being the "network for the living dead" arose again in the early [[TheNewTens 2010s]], as its shows became increasingly [[StrictlyFormula formulaic]] and became staples for older viewers, causing a shift to older demographics. However, this is now a ''winning'' strategy--after all, who watches network TV nowadays?

CBS has had the exclusive broadcast rights to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1991, and the song [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome "One Shining Moment",]] which they play at the closing of every tournament, has become synonymous with the Dance. In 2011 they split the tourney with Turner channels {{TBS}}, TNT and truTV to allow viewers to watch every game without interruptions, forcing fans to subscribe to DirecTV's pay-per-view "Mega March Madness" package, or saddling their affiliates with arranging a second channel to air spillover games. Emphasis on affiliates here; the network's owned-and-operated stations (which there are 14 of, almost all located in major markets) are crippled by the fact that they are not allowed to have digital subchannels (so as not to negatively impact the picture quality), further necessitating the Turner deal.

* ''Series/StillStanding''

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to [[Fox]], leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[note]]an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with Creator/{{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes[[/note]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[note]]NBC affiliates KYW in UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} and WBZ in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore[[/note]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS.[[note]]the other two, KPIX in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco and KDKA in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions. The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its Creator/{{ABC}} affiliation to Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being Creator/{{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.[[/note]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to Fox, leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[note]]an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with Creator/{{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes[[/note]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[note]]NBC affiliates KYW in UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} and WBZ in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore[[/note]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS.[[note]]the other two, KPIX in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco and KDKA in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions. The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its Creator/{{ABC}} affiliation to Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being Creator/{{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.[[/note]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

In the TurnOfTheMillennium, CBS started turning itself around, debuting the megahits ''{{Survivor}}'' and ''Series/{{CSI}}'' in 2000, and following them up over the next few years with a number of hit {{police procedural}}s (including ''CSI'''s [[CSINewYork two]] [[CSIMiami spinoffs]]) and [[{{Sitcom}} sitcoms]]. The network recovered from the abyss, running neck-and-neck with {{Fox}} for the number one spot in the ratings, and started becoming popular with younger audiences again... just as network television viewership overall started to decline with the rise of NewMedia. That said, CBS seems to be handling the new media shift far better than the new Viacom has; they've invested heavily in streaming, going as far as putting several classic Paramount/Desilu shows such as ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''MacGyver'' up for viewing, and also bought CNET Networks' family of websites in 2007, rebranding it as CBS Interactive (this subsidiary also includes GameFAQs, Last.fm, Metacritic and TV.com, in addition to the various CNET websites). Nevertheless, the old joke about being the "network for the living dead" arose again in the early [[TheNewTens 2010s]], as its shows became increasingly [[StrictlyFormula formulaic]] and became staples for older viewers, causing a shift to older demographics. However, this is now a ''winning'' strategy--after all, who watches network TV nowadays?

----

However, this is a big advantage for CBS' other programming, as their high quality HD signal isn't impeded by automated weather or live cross country skiing from Lithuania on subchannels like it is on NBC and ABC-owned stations. This means that you, the viewer, have the luxury of seeing every single wrinkle in [[CSIMiami Horatio Caine's]] face.[[note]]or, at least, you did, until CBS [[{{Canceled}} sent Horatio into retirement in spring 2012]][[/note]]

However, this is a big advantage for CBS' other programming, as their high quality HD signal isn't impeded by automated weather or live cross country skiing from Lithuania on subchannels like it is on NBC and ABC-owned stations. This means that you, the viewer, have the luxury of seeing every single wrinkle in [[CSIMiami Horatio Caine's]] face.

CBS has had the exclusive broadcast rights to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1991, and the song [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome "One Shining Moment",]] which they play at the closing of every tournament, has become synonymous with the Dance. In 2011 they'll begin to split the tourney with Turner channels {{TBS}}, TNT and truTV to allow viewers to watch every game without interruptions, forcing fans to subscribe to DirecTV's pay-per-view "Mega March Madness" package, or saddling their affiliates with arranging a second channel to air spillover games. Emphasis on affiliates here; the network's owned-and-operated stations (which there are 14 of, almost all located in major markets) are crippled by the fact that they are not allowed to have digital subchannels (so as not to negatively impact the picture quality), further necessitating the Turner deal.

In the TurnOfTheMillennium, CBS started turning itself around, debuting the megahits ''{{Survivor}}'' and ''Series/{{CSI}}'' in 2000, and following them up over the next few years with a number of hit {{police procedural}}s (including ''CSI'''s [[CSINewYork two]] [[CSIMiami spinoffs]]) and [[{{Sitcom}} sitcoms]]. The network recovered from the abyss, running neck-and-neck with {{Fox}} for the number one spot in the ratings, and started becoming popular with younger audiences again... just as network television viewership overall started to decline with the rise of NewMedia. That said, CBS seems to be handling the new media shift far better than the new Viacom has; they've invested heavily in streaming, going as far as putting several classic Paramount/Desilu shows such as ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''MacGyver'' up for viewing, and also bought CNET Networks' family of websites in 2007, rebranding it as CBS Interactive (this subsidiary also includes GameFAQs, Last.fm, Metacritic and TV.com, in addition to the various CNET websites).

In its heyday, CBS was known as the "Tiffany network"; it was the undisputed {{ratings}} champion (a streak that had started with ''ILoveLucy'' in TheFifties and stretched into TheSixties), its news operations were among the most respected in the world, and it owned quite a few side businesses unrelated to broadcasting, such as Columbia/CBS Records, Fender guitars and Ideal Toys. Through the '60s, its primetime programs were mostly rural-themed sitcoms, such as ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' and ''GreenAcres'', but a decision to project a more urbane image (with the coming of shows like ''TheMaryTylerMooreShow'') led CBS to cancel them all ''en masse'' in 1971. CBS continued to do well, sitting comfortably in second place behind a booming Creator/{{ABC}}, right into the early 1980s, with several classic TV shows such as ''MASH'' and ''AllInTheFamily'' (as well as [[TheJeffersons its]] [[GoodTimes spinoffs]]) carrying the load handily.

This all changed as Creator/{{NBC}} roared to Number 1 in 1984-1985 with its Thursday night lineup. CBS was heavily invested in dramas such as ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' and ''MurderSheWrote'', with only a few sitcoms (such as ''{{Newhart}}'') to speak of. Aside from the odd ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' or ''{{Garfield}}'' special, pretty much everything CBS ran attracted much older audiences than Creator/{{NBC}} or Creator/{{ABC}}, leading to many jokes about CBS being "the network for the living dead".

In its heyday, CBS was known as the "Tiffany network"; it was the undisputed {{ratings}} champion (a streak that had started with ''ILoveLucy'' in TheFifties and stretched into TheSixties), its news operations were among the most respected in the world, and it owned quite a few side businesses unrelated to broadcasting, such as Columbia/CBS Records, Fender guitars and Ideal Toys. Through the '60s, its primetime programs were mostly rural-themed sitcoms, such as ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' and ''GreenAcres'', but a decision to project a more urbane image (with the coming of shows like ''TheMaryTylerMooreShow'') led CBS to cancel them all ''en masse'' in 1971. CBS continued to do well, sitting comfortably in second place behind a booming Creator/{{ABC}}, right into the early 1980s, with several classic TV shows such as ''MASH'' and ''AllInTheFamily'' (as well as [[TheJeffersons its]] [[GoodTimes spinoffs]]) carrying the load handily.

This all changed as Creator/{{NBC}} roared to Number 1 in 1984-1985 with its Thursday night lineup. CBS was heavily invested in dramas such as ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' and ''MurderSheWrote'', with only a few sitcoms (such as ''{{Newhart}}'') to speak of. Aside from the odd ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' or ''{{Garfield}}'' special, pretty much everything CBS ran attracted much older audiences than Creator/{{NBC}} or Creator/{{ABC}}, leading to many jokes about CBS being "the network for the living dead".

CBS was ripe for a takeover during this time. Ted Turner attempted a hostile takeover of the network, and failed. Loews (the same company that had owned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during its heyday) bought a controlling interest in the company in 1985, and installed its co-owner Laurence Tisch as CEO. CBS had debt that resulted from trying to block Turner's takeover, and the cost-cutting and money-raising that followed saw CBS selling many of its side businesses to focus on broadcasting; the biggest one, CBS Records, went to Sony in 1987 (which has caused some confusion due to Sony buying unrelated Columbia Pictures two years later).

In the TurnOfTheMillennium, CBS started turning itself around, debuting the megahits ''{{Survivor}}'' and ''{{CSI}}'' in 2000, and following them up over the next few years with a number of hit {{police procedural}}s (including ''CSI'''s [[CSINewYork two]] [[CSIMiami spinoffs]]) and [[{{Sitcom}} sitcoms]]. The network recovered from the abyss, running neck-and-neck with {{Fox}} for the number one spot in the ratings, and started becoming popular with younger audiences again... just as network television viewership overall started to decline with the rise of {{new media}}. That said, CBS seems to be handling the new media shift far better than the new Viacom has; they've invested heavily in streaming, going as far as putting several classic Paramount/Desilu shows such as ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''{{MacGyver}}'' up for viewing, and also bought CNET Networks' family of websites in 2007, rebranding it as CBS Interactive (this subsidiary also includes GameFAQs, Last.fm, Metacritic and TV.com, in addition to the various CNET websites).

During the 1950s and 1960s, CBS had, arguably, the greatest television news department in the world. With anchors like Edward R. Murrow (the man who fought [[RedScare Joe McCarthy]] and won) and Walter Cronkite ("The Most Trusted Man in America"), and shows like ''[[SixtyMinutes 60 Minutes]]'', CBS News ruled the roost. Their ''CBS Reports'' specials became famous. In 1960, Murrow's ''CBS Reports'' documentary ''Harvest of Shame'' showed the plight of American migrant agricultural workers, and is acknowledged as one of the greatest news stories ever. ''Harvest of Shame'' forever changed the nature of TV news and set the tone for a generation of investigative journalists.

Unfortunately, not only was there was little money in such programs, but they usually managed to upset corporate sponsors. Coca-Cola, for example, refused to purchase advertising on CBS for years after ''Harvest of Shame''. Fearing that other sponsors would follow suit, CBS allowed their news division to wither into irrelevance over the following decades, causing {{PBS}} (which didn't have corporate sponsors to answer to) to take up the mantle of investigative TV journalism in the United States. However there has been a bigger emphasis on their news department going towards a hard news direction after the end of the [[DorkAge Dan Rather/Katie Couric era]], with ''60 Minutes'' anchor Scott Pelley moving to the ''Evening News'', and the fact that CBS News dominates on Sundays but withers the rest of the week. This can be seen in their newscasts not going after the newest sordid scandal in the way ABC and NBC do, and ''CBS This Morning'', which seems more comfortable with its lower audience with a news-bent program meant to compete more with ''Morning Joe'' and ''Fox & Friends'' than just playing FollowTheLeader with the others.

CBS has had the exclusive broadcast rights to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship since 1991, and the song [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome "One Shining Moment",]] which they play at the closing of every tournament, has become synonymous with the Dance. In 2011 they'll begin to split the tourney with Turner channels {{TBS}}, TNT and truTV to allow viewers to watch every game without interruptions, forcing fans to subscribe to {{DirecTV}}'s pay-per-view "Mega March Madness" package, or saddling their affiliates with arranging a second channel to air spillover games. Emphasis on affiliates here; the network's owned-and-operated stations (which there are 14 of, almost all located in major markets) are crippled by the fact that they are not allowed to have digital subchannels (so as not to negatively impact the picture quality), further necessitating the Turner deal.

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to Fox, leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[note]]an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with Creator/{{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes[[/note]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[note]]NBC affiliates KYW in UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} and WBZ in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore[[/note]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS [[note]]the other two, KPIX in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco and KDKA in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions .The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its Creator/{{ABC}} affiliation to Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being Creator/{{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.[[/note]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to Fox, leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[hottip:*:an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with Creator/{{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[hottip:*:NBC affiliates KYW in UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} and WBZ in UsefulNotes/{{Boston}}, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS [[hottip:*:the other two, KPIX in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco and KDKA in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions]].[[note]]The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its Creator/{{ABC}} affiliation to Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being Creator/{{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in UsefulNotes/{{Denver}} and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.[[/note]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to Fox, leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[hottip:*:an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with Creator/{{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[hottip:*:NBC affiliates KYW in Philadelphia and WBZ in Boston, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS [[hottip:*:the other two, KPIX in SanFrancisco and KDKA in {{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions]].[[hottip:*:The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its Creator/{{ABC}} affiliation to Creator/{{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being {{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in Denver and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

In its heyday, CBS was known as the "Tiffany network"; it was the undisputed {{ratings}} champion (a streak that had started with ''ILoveLucy'' in TheFifties and stretched into TheSixties), its news operations were among the most respected in the world, and it owned quite a few side businesses unrelated to broadcasting, such as Columbia/CBS Records, Fender guitars and Ideal Toys. Through the '60s, its primetime programs were mostly rural-themed sitcoms, such as ''TheBeverlyHillbillies'' and ''GreenAcres'', but a decision to project a more urbane image (with the coming of shows like ''TheMaryTylerMooreShow'') led CBS to cancel them all ''en masse'' in 1971. CBS continued to do well, sitting comfortably in second place behind a booming {{ABC}}, right into the early 1980s, with several classic TV shows such as ''MASH'' and ''AllInTheFamily'' (as well as [[TheJeffersons its]] [[GoodTimes spinoffs]]) carrying the load handily.

This all changed as {{NBC}} roared to Number 1 in 1984-1985 with its Thursday night lineup. CBS was heavily invested in dramas such as ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' and ''[[MurderSheWrote Murder, She Wrote]]'', with only a few sitcoms (such as ''{{Newhart}}'') to speak of. Aside from the odd ''{{Peanuts}}'' or ''{{Garfield}}'' special, pretty much everything CBS ran attracted much older audiences than {{NBC}} or {{ABC}}, leading to many jokes about CBS being "the network for the living dead".

By the mid-1990s, CBS mainly had its weekend sports coverage to fall back on, and when they lost rights to the NFL in 1994, the joke became "'''C'''an't '''B'''roadcast '''S'''ports". Not helping matters was CBS losing a number of key affiliates (Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, Dallas and others) to Fox, leaving them to find affiliation elsewhere, many on UHF channels. Still without any solid hits, CBS ended up merging with Westinghouse [[hottip:*:an old-style industrial conglomerate whose main attraction was their broadcasting division, which had been for years hamstrung with two of their stations being affiliated with {{NBC}}, which dictated heavily how to present their schedule and news against their wishes]] in 1995; this was prefaced by a deal that switched three [[hottip:*:NBC affiliates KYW in Philadelphia and WBZ in Boston, and ABC affiliate WJZ in Baltimore]] of Westinghouse's five stations to CBS [[hottip:*:the other two, KPIX in SanFrancisco and KDKA in {{Pittsburgh}}, were already CBS affiliates; the only change to them was less pre-emptions]].[[hottip:*:The deal occured due to WJZ in Baltimore losing its {{ABC}} affiliation to {{NBC}} affiliate WMAR-TV, something which angered Westinghouse and caused them to fear more defections. CBS picked up Philadelphia's KYW in this deal, which meant they had to sell longtime O&O WCAU. The buyer wound up being {{NBC}}, who had wanted to own a station in Philadelphia for decades and traded KCNC in Denver and KUTV in Salt Lake City for WCAU.]] A further merger occured, this time with Viacom (CBS's own former distribution arm) in 2000. This was initially complicated by the fact that Viacom already owned half of {{UPN}}, and both CBS and UPN had owned-and-operated stations in many of the same markets (Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Miami, and Pittsburgh). Viacom cleared this hurdle when the FCC legalized duopolies, leading to the two networks becoming corporate siblings. CBS regained the NFL in 1998.

In 1993, CBS signed DavidLetterman, who had left his show ''Late Night'' (to ConanOBrien) on {{NBC}} after being shafted out of the ''TonightShow'' job by his former friend Jay Leno despite Letterman being retiring ''Tonight Show'' host Johnny Carson's preferred choice for his replacement (something Carson never forgave either Leno or NBC for). His ''Late Show with David Letterman'' was an immediate ratings success, destroying Leno in numbers thanks to his younger fan following, but Leno soon began to win the 11:30 slot in 1995 after his interview with Hugh Grant. Despite this Letterman's show is one of CBS' biggest ratings hits, along with the ''TheLateLateShow with CraigFerguson'' which airs immediately after.

This all changed as {{NBC}} roared to Number 1 in 1984-1985 with its Thursday night lineup. CBS was heavily invested in dramas such as ''{{Dallas}}'' and ''[[MurderSheWrote Murder, She Wrote]]'', with only a few sitcoms (such as ''{{Newhart}}'') to speak of. Aside from the odd ''{{Peanuts}}'' or ''{{Garfield}}'' special, pretty much everything CBS ran attracted much older audiences than {{NBC}} or {{ABC}}, leading to many jokes about CBS being "the network for the living dead".

In the TurnOfTheMillennium, CBS started turning itself around, debuting the megahits ''{{Survivor}}'' and ''{{CSI}}'' in 2000, and following them up over the next few years with a number of hit {{police procedural}}s (including ''CSI'''s [[CSINewYork two]] [[CSIMiami spinoffs]]) and [[{{Sitcom}} sitcoms]]. The network recovered from the abyss, running neck-and-neck with {{Fox}} for the number one spot in the ratings, and started becoming popular with younger audiences again... just as network television viewership overall started to decline with the rise of {{new media}}. That said, CBS seems to be handling the new media shift far better than the new Viacom has; they've invested heavily in streaming, going as far as putting several classic Paramount/Desilu shows such as ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''{{MacGyver}}'' up for viewing, and also bought CNET Networks' family of websites in 2007, rebranding it as CBS Interactive (this subsidiary also includes GameFAQs, Last.fm, Metacritic and TV.com, in addition to the various CNET websites).